Boren announced on June 7, 2011, that he would not seek re-election to the House in 2012.[1] On June 19, 2012, he announced via a news release that he has been hired as president of corporate development with the Chickasaw Nation, working to promote tribal economic development upon completion of his term in Congress.[2]

On May 15, 2008 Boren was elected to the board of directors of the National Rifle Association. Boren said that he was a lifetime member of the NRA.[6]

In November 2009, Boren voted along with 39 other Democrats against the Affordable Health Care for America Act.[7] Boren also voted against the final bill, in March.[8] He said "only 17 percent of my constituents supported the bill."[9] In January 2011, Boren was one of 3 Democrats to vote with the unified Republican caucus for its repeal.[10]

In 2011, he co-sponsored HR 3, the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act,[11] The bill contained an exception for "forcible rape," which opponents criticized as potentially excluding drug-facilitated rape, date rape, and other forms of rape.[12] The bill also allowed an exception for minors who are victims of incest.[11]

In July 2011, Boren was one of five Democrats to vote for the Cut, Cap, and Balance Act.[13]

In 2006, the nonpartisan environmental group League of Conservation Voters included Boren in its “Dirty Dozen” list of anti-environment federal officeholders, citing his “dismal voting record on issues of environmental importance.”[14] This record included support for the Energy Policy Act of 2005 — a bill criticized for the billions of dollars in subsidies it provided the oil and nuclear industries — as well as opposition to policies designed to increase fuel efficiency and to increase accountability for producers of the pollutant and fuel additive MTBE.[14] Boren also voted in favor of the Threatened and Endangered Species Recovery Act,[15] a bill that environmental groups said would drastically reduce the protections in the Endangered Species Act.[16] Boren was a cosponsor of H.R. 25, the FairTax Act, which replaces federal taxes with a flat sales tax. This legislation attracted 59 members in the 109th Congress.[17]

In March 2011, Boren was one of four Democrats to support the Energy Tax Prevention Act, which would block the EPA from reducing heat-trapping pollution blamed for global warming.[18]

On June 7, 2011, The Oklahoman announced that "Rep. Dan Boren, the only Democrat in Oklahoma's seven-person congressional delegation, will not seek re-election in 2012, setting up what could be an intense partisan battle for a seat that spans much of eastern Oklahoma.[23] "

Boren's fiscally conservative leanings fit with the political demographics of his district. The 2nd was once a Democratic stronghold, but has become increasingly friendly to Republicans as Tulsa's suburbs have begun to encroach on the district.[26] The district has voted for the Republican candidate in the 2000, 2004, and 2008 Presidential elections, by double-digit margins in the latter two years.[27]